Juan Manuel de Rosas

Juan Manuel de Rosas (30 March 1793-14 March 1877), known as the "Restorer of Laws", was the dictator of the Argentine Confederation from 1835 until his deposition in the Battle of Caseros in 1852. Rosas was formerly a bluff gaucho (landowner) from Buenos Aires, but after the downfall of Facundo Quiroga's government in 1835, he seized power and started a cult of personality. All men wore red in his honor and portraits of him were adorned in churches and public places. Eventually, Justo de Urquiza overthrew him and he fled in exile to the United Kingdom.

Biography
Rosas was born in his family's town house in Buenos Aires, and was a Creole of pure Spanish descent. Rosas was born to a wealthy family and he fought for independence from Spain in the South American Wars of Liberation from 1810 to 1816. From 1816 to 1830 he took part in fighting the Liberal Colorados and Unitarios in the Argentine Civil Wars, and in 1830 he became the Governor of Buenos Aires. By 1835, he had made himself the ruler of the collapsing United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata and had founded the Argentine Confederation, which allied with Pampas Indians to create a large Argentinian nation.

However, Argentina was thrown into turmoil because of the ongoing civil wars. All opposition was crushed through the Mazorca secret police that Rosas set up and he censored newspapers, and ruled Argentina as a military dictator after the death of Facundo Quiroga. In the 1840s he fought Bolivia and Uruguay with mixed success; eventually in 1845 Bolivia made serious gains and became his biggest enemy. However, his largest threat was also his downfall: in 1852, the Brazilian Empire, Uruguay, and his former friend and confidant Justo de Urquiza allied against him and defeated him in the Battle of Caseros. Overthrown by the coalition, he fled to Britain and lived the rest of his life in exile. He died at the age of 83 in Southampton.